LEDs

Solid state (light emitting diode, known as LEDs) street lights, an energy saving device for water heaters, more efficient elevators, and a massaging mouse won top honors at this year’s Future Science Star competition in Shanghai, China. More

As countries look for ways to reduce their carbon footprints, lighting, which uses nearly 20% of the world’s energy, has become a key target — and increasingly solid state lighting (both LED and OLED-based) is being explored as an energy-efficient answer.

We’ve all heard about LEDs, but what about OLEDs? Both generate light using semiconductor technology, use less energy and are typically longer lasting than the incandescent or gas filled bulbs they are slated to replace: but that is where the resemblance stops.More

Recently, the MIT Club of Northern California Cleantech Series presented “The Coming Ramp of Solid State Lighting,” a panel discussion held at Applied Materials' offices in California.

Panelists included representatives from Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) emerging technologies division, CEOs from two promising start-ups — Exclara and Luxim Corporation, the vice president of Strategy and Marketing form PhilipMore

The United States Government's Department of Energy (DOE) is running a contest, named the L Prize, to reward the first organization to design and develop an energy efficient LED bulb. A recent article in the New York Times describes both the contest and the recent submission from lighting giant Philips. The prize for a replacement 60 watt bulb is $10 million dollars and for a replacement reflector flood lamp it's $5 million dollars.More

Long the symbol of a good idea, tungsten (also known as wolfram – but that’s another story) light bulbs have been deemed a bad idea by the European Union.

As of today the EU has officially banned the sale of frosted tungsten light bulbs with the idea of moving to more energy efficient lighting. Also, clear bulbs over 100W must be transitioned to more efficient types by 2012.More